(NaturalNews) Professional athletes are not the only prominent members of society with major drug problems. According to a recent report by AOL News, as many as 25 percent or more of police officers are regularly take steroid drugs, which has led to a rise in the number of assaults and other cases of “roid rage” occurring against citizens by those in law enforcement.

Lawrence Payne, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently told AOL News that steroid use among cops is a “big problem” and that “it’s something we shouldn’t ignore.” After all, numerous investigations have revealed an alarmingly high rate of use, including an investigation in New Jersey that pinned 248 cops and 53 firefighters with steroid use.

Former South Bend police officer Tony Macik, for instance, served a 300-day jail sentence for dealing steroids and assaulting one of his wife’s co-workers, an incident likely related to steroid use (http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headl…). And an 84-year-old Florida man who suffered a broken neck after being tackled by Officer Travis Lamont from the Orlando Police Department says that Lamont’s “erratic, sporadic and aggressive behavior” was indicative of steroid use (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s…).

And there are countless other cases of both steroid use and possession among officers across the country. But because most people are unaware of it, little is being done to stop the practice. Officers are not necessarily even required to undergo drug testing, and some departments say that forcing officers to get tested for drugs after they assault citizens violates their rights.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

According to Larry Gaines, chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice at California State University, San Bernardino, steroid use has escalated among police officers largely due to increased emphasis on strength and fitness. And because officers are not in the limelight in the same way that professional athletes are, most of society remains clueless and unconcerned about the resulting widespread negative effects.